Thirty kilometres. A 35-year-old man on a bike died after he was dragged this far under the car of a revenue official (Tehsildar) in Uttar Pradesh.
The incident, which took place Thursday evening, was reported from Bahraich, nearly 127 km from state capital Lucknow.
The victim, identified as Narendra Kumar Haldar, a resident of Payagpur, was returning home on his bike when the accident occurred on the Nanpara-Bahraich road on Thursday.
"Mere teen bachhe hain (I have three children)," the distraught wife of the victim, crying inconsolably, told reporters.
According to the police, the victim's body got entangled in the vehicle and was dragged for the entire distance, reaching the Nanpara Tehsil.
Naib Tehsildar Shailesh Kumar Awasthi, who is believed to be present in the vehicle at the time of the accident, has been recommended for suspension by District Magistrate Monika Rani.
"The matter of a car colliding with a bike came to notice. The Naib Tehsildar of Nanpara had come to Bahraich in the Tehsildar's car for some work and was returning to Nanpara. It has been learnt that a body got stuck with his car that drove till Nanpara Tehsil. According to the naib tehsildar, he was not aware of it. A recommendation has been made to suspend the naib tehsildar who was in the car," said Ms Rani.
The vehicle's driver, Meraj Ahmed, has been arrested.
"It was confirmed that the body was dragged for 30 kilometers to Nanpara when the locations of the deceased Narendra Haldar and the tehsildar's driver Meraj Ahmed were tracked at the time of the accident," Superintendent of Police Vrinda Shukla said, adding that the incident was a "big negligence".
"It is very unlikely that a body was stuck in the vehicle for 30 kilometers and no one came to know about it. It is possible that the vehicle was not stopped due to fear," Vrinda Shukla added.
The officer said that an investigation is underway to determine the exact circumstances of the accident.
"Police are examining CCTV footage along the 30-kilometer route to reconstruct the sequence of events," the officer added.
In the police complaint lodge regarding the matter, the family members of the victim have mentioned the vehicle of the tehsildar, the police said.
(With inputs from Saleem Siddiqui)
